Tizen SDK 2.0 released along with screenshots

The SDK and source code for Tizen 2.0 Magnolia has just become available. It shows how far Tizen has come since Tizen 1.0 Larkspur. The operating system actually looks pretty good, and perhaps almost ready for primetime. We already know that Samsung is gearing up to release several Tizen phones this year, and to multiple countries like Korea, Japan, and France. It’s all a part of Samsung’s plan to be less dependent on Google for its success in the mobile industry.

The new Tizen 2.0 Magnolia SDK features a number of enhancements. There is a new web framework that provides “state-of-the-art” HTML5/W3C API support. There is a new Web UI framework that includes full-screen and multi-window support. There are APIs for Bluetooth and NFC support as well as access to the core apps like calendar, contacts, gallery, phone, settings, and the video player. There is a native framework supporting full-featured application development. Enhanced Web IDE providing WYSIWYG design environment, and a native IDE that provides a project wizard. There are many more features included in the SDK’s release notes.

Following Tizen 2.0, Tizen 2.1 will be released in the 2nd quarter of 2013. It’s a minor update, but it will have new features like account management, application installing service, livebox support, performance optimization, and security enhancements. There will also be performance enhancements without API modification or removal.

Tizen 2.0 Magnolia looks good,and could be a start of a new chapter for Samsung. Samsung is already hugely popular in the mobile industry thanks to its high-end Galaxy line, so it may have the pull it needs in order to make Tizen a success. While Tizen does look nice, Samsung also has to make sure that it has a good app selection that includes popular apps like Instagram and Facebook. With a huge app store, and the ability to launch the Tizen OS on a high-end Galaxy-esque device, it looks like there may be another major OS competitor in the mobile market.